Little Ballerina

Maylie started a ballet class on Wednesday, February 28th at the YMCA. We had gotten her a new pink leotard and some ballet shoes the week before and she wore them around the house any chance she could! Finally the day of her first class arrived and she was very excited!

For being just 3, she did really well following directions and listening to her dance instructor. There are four other little girls in the class with her including Claire, a friend from church.

They all look so little and adorable trying so hard to master those ballet dance moves!

Day of Rest

This girl doesn't take a formal nap too often these days, but sometimes she will come over and fall asleep next to me after an exhausting day like she this afternoon after church.

Aside from the occasional drool, I don't mind this one bit!!

2018 WHMS Infusion Concert

Abby goes to Western Heights Middle School which is the Magnet school for the arts in this area. Every year they put on a big show to highlight these kids and all of their amazing talents. This year their Infusion concert was held on Friday, February 23rd. They had two shows that evening and both of them sold out well before the actual day of performance!!

We walked into the school and were amazed by all of the amazing graphic design and art works presents in the lobby.

We watched a lot of dancing, singing, flag performances and monologues, but of course our favorite parts were watching Abby perform. 

Here she is doing her monologue along with one of her theater classmates.

She also got to sing with the Magnet chorus group and participated in the two numbers that included all of the cast from that night, "Fame" and "True Colors."

Abby was right in her element that night and already told us that she can't wait until next year to perform again!!

Ninja Warrior

Both Landon and Nolan have been attending Ninja Warrior classes at a local gym near our home. They love going and I love to see how much exercise these classes give them. Sometimes we get lazy during these cold winter months so we were happy to find this fun outlet for them!

12th Birthday

Abby turned 12 years old on Tuesday, February 20th. She is such a sweet, kind-hearted girl and as much as I love watching her grow, there is a part of me that wants her to stay young forever!

I checked her out of school for lunch and we took all of her birthday gifts over to the Humane Society first.

They were so grateful for this kind gesture and she was excited to be able to do this on her birthday. What a great example of service!

Afterwards I treated her to lunch at her choice (Chipotle) and then we did a little shopping before taking her back to school. She told me later that this was her favorite part of her day!

She had rehearsal until 6 p.m. so we picked her up and headed straight over to her dinner of choice, "Noodles & Co." Afterwards we headed home for pajamas and opening up of family gifts and cards. 

She received some nice cards from my sisters and her grandparents and had some fun craft and baking gifts from her family

We sang Happy Birthday and watched as she blew out all 12 of her candles on her cake with another little girl just dying to join in!!

She gets to go to her first youth activity tomorrow night and is so excited about this next chapter in her life. She is a beautiful girl both inside and out and we can't wait to see all that she will accomplish in this life. I just hope she doesn't grow up too fast!!

Abby's Birthday Party

Abby had her birthday party on Monday, February 19th since it was a day off from school for President's Day. She had 10 friends who were able to make it and she chose to have a "Beauty & the Beast" theme for the party.

I found these cute mirrors from the dollar store and some chocolate roses that were clearanced out after Valentine's Day that made some fun handouts.

The house was all decked out in red and gold for the big event. 

 We started off with a painting project, watched parts of the live-action "Beauty & the Beast" movie and then just let the girls play for a while which was the best part of the afternoon for all of them.

When they got hungry, we had a bunch of themed food for them to eat including,

"Cogsworth' Carrots n' More"...

"Maurice's Many Fruits"...

"Chip's Chips"...

 "Belle's Brownies"...

"Enchanted Rose Cupcakes"...

 "Plumette's Pink Lemonade" and "Lumiere's Lemonade"...

I was bad and didn't get a single picture of all the girls at the party. I guess I was just too busy with everything else going on. Here is what Abby received from her party friends though. She had requested donations for the Humane Society rather than gifts from herself and her friends supplied so many wonderful gifts for some needy animals. 

It was a fun party and Abby had a blast being with so many of her friends from school, the neighborhood and church!

Hawk

There have been a few mornings this week when we have looked outside to this giant bird watching our yard from the top of our neighbor's house. Jason thought it was an owl but looks more like a hawk to me. Not sure what he is hunting for but it is a bit creepy!

Little Reader

We came home from running errands one day and I turned around to this little scene...

 Maylie had perched herself up on the couch and was reading a chapter book. Like that was a completely normal thing for a 3-year-old to do!!

Bubble Fun

Another Saturday morning activity at the Discovery Station. Abby opted to stay at home for this one but the other three kids were excited to go and learn about bubbles. They made their own bubble solution and made their own wands from pipe cleaners.

Afterwards it was time for a fun building session. Nolan and Jason worked on this fun house together...

Landon made the Eiffel Tower...

Of course Maylie could not be left out so she quickly came up with her own block creation so that she could get her picture taken too!

100th Day of School

Tuesday, February 13th was the 100th day of school. Nolan came home sporting this pretty cool hat complete with 100 dots on it. Only 80 more days left of first grade for this little one!!

Maylie had to have a picture taken too, showing off her scrumptious ice cream cone in the middle of winter. We are a family of ice cream lovers no matter the season!!

Picture Girl

This girl is always asking me to take her picture. Today she told me to "take a picture of me texting my friends!" She loves this old phone of ours and thinks she is pretty hot stuff with it even though it has no battery so can't even turn on!!

Smoothie Aftermath

We had smoothies for dinner one night as requested by the kids and this was the end result.

Nolan ended up with quite the purple mustache...

And we finally convinced Maylie to use a napkin to wipe her mouth off rather than her dress!!

A Night at the Opera

Abby and Jason went on a little daddy-daughter date to the Maryland Symphony Orchestra's presentation of the opera Puccini's "Tosca." They even had box seats!

I am not a huge fan of the symphony but Jason is the treasurer for the Maryland Symphony Orchestra so I am glad he has another person he can take to these concerts in my place!

Creepy

Landon brought this paper home of his "self-portrait" and we couldn't stop laughing over it! That is one creepy dude!!